Tesoro announced recently that it has proactively begun replacing older rail cars in its crude oil rail car fleet with newer designed rail cars after evaluating rail car safety features.

It may not be alone- with several high publicity train derailments and accidents that have led to calls for less crude shipped via rail, companies are seeking to mitigate the fallout to avoid future mishaps.

According to a press release, Tesoro says it is committing that its rail car fleet will consist entirely of the newer DOT-111 design rail cars equipped with reinforced shields and relief devices by mid-2014.

"While this action applies to the vast majority of crude oil deliveries into Tesoro facilities, beginning in mid-2014 Tesoro will also make rail car design a part of its commercial considerations with all business partners who may ship crude oil into company-owned facilities. This includes Tesoro's refinery in Anacortes, Wash., and the proposed Tesoro-Savage Energy Distribution Terminal in Vancouver, Wash.," Tesoro said in a release.

The upgrades to Tesoro's rail car fleet will be completed before construction of the proposed Tesoro-Savage Energy Distribution Terminal would begin and before the terminal would start accepting crude oil deliveries. Because Tesoro is underpinning the initial capacity of the facility, many of the crude oil deliveries handled at the terminal at start-up will be owned by Tesoro and will arrive in Tesoro rail cars.

My post on this subject is long gone back in the first 300. Some I'm commenting on gas prices. 3 and a half weeks ago there was an article on the day for cheapest gas. In Indiana it listed Monday. By coincidence the following Sunday gas jumped 43 cents just in time for those Monday shoppers. It trickled down through the week and the next Sunday it jumped 25 cents. More trickle down and yesterday Sunday it jumped 21 cents just it time for all those people that read the article to by on Monday as the cheapest day of the week. Nothing in news about refineries or jump in crude on any of those Sunday's to justify any price increase. Think the people in charge of the prices saw that article too?

Tesoro upgrading crude oil carrying rail car fleet. Tesoro announced it has begun replacing older rail cars in its crude oil rail car fleet with newer designed rail cars after evaluating rail car safety features.Tesoro is committing that its rail car fleet will consist entirely of the newer DOT-111 design rail cars equipped with reinforced shields and relief devices by mid-2014. Tesero will also make rail car design a consideration with all business partners who may ship crude oil into company owned facilities. Make sure the railroad 'rails' and rail 'bed' are in good condition too!***Tesero is upgrading to CYA standards, with possible rail car crude oil derailments or oil spills. If anything like that ever happens, then they can say they did as much as they could to protect people and the environment. Lessen the impact of lawsuits, claims against the company OR bad press releases.It takes a derailment, oil spill, fire, or explosion for people, companies, or government to realize that something must be done and now. Improve the rail cars or go down with it.Sometimes you wonder if a crude oil pipeline could solve some of the many problems associated with railroad shipments?And who gets to pay for the rail car upgrades and track maintenance? The consumer, of course!Drive vehicles with high mpg, are very safe, reliable, have a ‘reasonable’ cost and a good ‘value’ for the money.The price of fuel at the pump is too high!

Hey L1 you want to make a friendly wager that the remaining section of the keystone getts approval in time for the 2016 elections? I will take approval for say $10.00?(I don't have much money I just took out a loan to fill up my many fuel tanks on way overpriced fuel!)

Everyone that wants the Keystone pipe will not be dissapointed(Obama is just stalling for the green base)what you will be dissapointed about is it is not going to do any of us any good, both sides are playing us against the middle,and both sides are drowning in frack,shale,steam tar oil and shale natural gas money---the whole increased north American oil and gas production deal the last ten years is nothing more than a decades old scam to get the most expensive oil resources on the planet out of the ground--and all we are going to get out of it is the bills for all of the extra costs.The same exact thing happened with the Nixon Yom Kippur war and the OPEC oil embargo--right down to developing and extracting way overpriced Alaskan oil,the near loss of our auto industry,devastated economy,massive job losses ect.What saved us last time was the 1984 OPEC oil glut--But they learned their lesson last time,and I don't think we will be that lucky again.